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WVM 2004 and Win XP Licensing

Davrobin

Posted 01 January 2007 - 08:16 PM

Davrobin

Member

Member

28 posts

I've been looking at microsoft virtual machine 2004 (MVM) as a means of providing me with a safe sandpit environment to mess around in without destroying my main home PC. I got all excited, installed the microsoft virtual machine software; set up the first VM, and began to install windows XP.... then started to wonder about licenses.

As far as i can see from the M$ support faq, I need to purchase a second windows XP licence to cover the virtual machine This is a bit of a pain, as all the useage is on my one PC.

Looks like the idea of using multiple VMs is out the window (unless I buy a second windows license!)... except for running an old copy of windows 98, or Linux.

Anyone else had this discovery, & anyone else found a way around the licensing hassle? (bearing in mind that I just have 1 desktop Pc at home with 1 copy of windows xp pro)

Dave R.

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Neil Jones

Posted 02 January 2007 - 05:20 PM

Neil Jones

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8,476 posts

Virtual Machines are classed as separate systems.

Keep in mind that while Virtual PC is a completely free program Windows is not. You will need to have a license for any Windows OS that you run in a virtual environment. This is not an issue if you are using beta versions of Windows Vista but in a production environment you need a license. If you use virtual machines a lot and you are an enterprise customer you may consider obtaining Windows Vista Enterprise, which also includes rights to run up to 4 additional copies of Windows in a virtual machine using a technology such as Virtual PC for a single license price.

Davrobin

Posted 03 January 2007 - 04:28 AM

Davrobin

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Topic Starter

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28 posts

Yes - it's a bit of a pain though, as I was hoping to use a VM as a quarantine area for trying out new software before installing on my "live" home machine. However, beta versions of vista sound interesting..... might kill two birds with one stone... a virtual machine for trying stuff out in safely AND a way of getting to preview Vista without wrecking my PC!

In the meantime VM is proving a useful tool for getting to know Linux!